The combine kicked off two months of massive intrigue at football's most important position. Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Peyton Manning, Matt Flynn—quarterbacks stand front and center as the draft and free agency seasons begin

AFTER THREE STRAIGHT TRIPS TO THE FINAL FOUR, BEN HOWLAND'S BRUINS UNEXPECTEDLY BEGAN TO STRUGGLE. FORMER PLAYERS AND STAFF MEMBERS TELL A CAUTIONARY TALE OF HOW DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS AND MISTAKES IN JUDGMENT CAN SABOTAGE EVEN A STORIED PROGRAM

FOR THE RECORD

By the archbishop of Newark, N.J., that boys' basketball powerhouse St. Patrick High School Academy in Elizabeth, whose enrollment has dwindled in recent years and whose school building is in need of repairs, close at the end of the school year. The tiny Catholic school (enrollment 151), which opened in 1863, has produced such NBA players as Al Harrington of the Nuggets, Samuel Dalembert of the Rockets and Kyrie Irving of the Cavs (page 46), as well as Kentucky freshman standout Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (above, center, in a 2010 tournament). The '10--11 St. Patrick team, led by coach Kevin Boyle, was the focus of the HBO documentary Prayer for a Perfect Season, which showed the Celtics going 26--1, their only loss coming in the state championship game. After 23 years, five state titles and the '11 Naismith High School Boys Basketball Coach of the Year award with the school, Boyle left after last season for Montverde (Fla.) Academy, along with several of his best players. The Celtics are 14--9 so far this year. The school plans to appeal the decision.

| BANNED |

From the Boston clubhouse in 2012 by new manager Bobby Valentine, alcohol, following a late '11 Red Sox collapse and reports in October that throughout the season, starting pitchers had remained in the clubhouse eating fast-food fried chicken and drinking beer during games that they were not starting. After making the announcement last Saturday, Valentine, who until last year skippered the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan following 15 seasons managing in the majors, explained, "It's just what I've always done. I'm comfortable with it that way." As to his players' reaction, it "fell somewhere in between a standing O and a standing boo," Valentine said, adding that he did not anticipate any problems. Following the press conference David Ortiz told reporters, "We're here to play baseball. It ain't a bar." The Red Sox have also banned alcohol on flights returning to Boston—they usually land late at night, after which players often drive themselves home.

| APOLOGIZED |

For a special edition Jeremy Lin--themed frozen yogurt, Taste the Lin-Sanity (below), that included pieces of fortune cookies, a Boston branch of the ice cream company Ben & Jerry's. Released only at an outlet in Cambridge, Mass., minutes from Lin's Harvard alma mater, the vanilla frozen yogurt featured lychee honey swirls and fortune cookie pieces, but the company eventually replaced the latter with pieces of waffle cones because, it said, the cookies got soggy. Ben & Jerry's released a statement offering a "heartfelt apology if anyone was offended," adding that it only intended to honor Lin. The apology came four days after the Asian-American Journalists Association published media guidelines on how to cover the Knicks' point guard, encouraging news outlets to avoid references to fortune cookies and take-out boxes.

| DIED |

At age 100, pinball innovator Steve Kordek. When the game first came about, in the 1930s, players would shake a table in order to direct a ball toward a hole. That system was altered in '47 with the addition of six flippers. But it wasn't until '48, when Kordek developed the modern table, with just two strong flippers, that pinball took off. Kordek went on to create more than 100 of the earliest board layouts and was credited with inventing multiball play as well as targets that drop underneath the field when struck. Like the game he created, luck played a large role in Kordek's career: In '37, never having seen a pinball machine in his life, he was walking past the headquarters of the Chicago gaming company Genco when the skies opened; to stay dry he ducked inside and there landed himself a job offer. "I had more fun in this business than anyone could believe," he said more than 60 years later.

| CONVICTED |

Of second-degree murder in the death of Yeardley Love, former Virginia lacrosse player George Huguely. According to court filings, late on the night of May 2, 2010, Huguely kicked down the door of the off-campus apartment belonging to Love, his former girlfriend and also a Cavaliers varsity lacrosse player, then allegedly choked her and bashed her head against a wall, leading to Love's death by blunt force trauma, according to the Virginia medical examiner's office. The legal team for Huguely (above), who pleaded not guilty on Feb. 6, had argued in court that Love's death was accidental and that their client deserved to be convicted only of manslaughter; the prosecution contended that Huguely planned the attack in advance, making it first-degree murder. Huguely, 24, now faces up to 26 years in prison—25 for the murder and one for grand larceny, after he stole Love's laptop as he left her apartment.

| REPORTED |

To spring training camp in Lakeland, Fla., new Tigers pitcher Octavio Dotel, 38, who in April will play for his 13th MLB club—at least one team in each of the big league divisions. Here's who Dotel will pass in becoming the athlete among those in the four major North American pro sports leagues to have played for the most teams. Keep in mind, all five of these guys have retired.

NHL

Mike Sillinger

12 teams, 1990--2009

NBA

Chucky Brown

12 teams, 1989--2002

NBA

Jim Jackson

12 teams, 1992--2006

NBA

Tony Massenburg

12 teams, 1990--2005

NBA

Joe Smith

12 teams, 1995--2011

NBA PLAYERS POLL

If you were starting a team from scratch, which player would you choose first?

LeBron James, Heat F 37%

Dwight Howard, Magic C 19%

Kevin Durant, Thunder F 11%

Kobe Bryant, Lakers G 10%

Derrick Rose, Bulls G 10%

FAST FACTS

James was especially popular among rookie voters, 61% of whom named him.... Of the 448 players who have logged minutes in 2011--12, only 16 received at least one vote.... T-Wolves PG Ricky Rubio, 21, was the youngest to receive votes (1%). The oldest: Suns PG Steve Nash, who is 38 (2%).... The Lakers were the only team with multiple vote getters (also: Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum).... In a similar poll on Facebook, Durant beat out LeBron, 36% to 22%.

Based on 137 NBA players who responded to SI's survey

Go Figure

3

TDs scored by Terrell Owens—on three receptions—in his debut last Saturday for the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League.

7

Consecutive wins, all on the road, by the Spurs (Feb. 6--20), a feat matched only once before in the NBA, by San Antonio's 2003 team.

16

Career regular-season overtime goals scored by Flyers RW Jaromir Jagr, who passed Patrik Elias, Sergei Fedorov and Mats Sundin for the NHL record with his OT tally against the Jets on Feb. 21.

142

Turnovers at midseason by the NBA leader in that category, the Thunder's Russell Westbrook, who has played 1,194 minutes.

179

Projected number of turnovers by the Knicks' Jeremy Lin over the same amount of time. Lin had 76 in 506 minutes.

$70,000

Winning bid on eBay for a pair of Nike's Foamposite Galaxy basketball shoes, the anticipated release of which led to the calling of police in riot gear to an Orlando shopping mall last Friday.

Before he became the premier postseason performer of his generation, the Patriots icon was a middling college quarterback who invited skepticism, even scorn, from fans and his coaches. That was all—and that was everything